A Hunter's Live
by WyvernRider3
Summary: Brick Strum, number 42 in the most dangerous bounty hunters of the Galaxy, captain of one of the only three Hunter Crews on the galaxy, a human, native to the Sol System in the unknown regions of the galaxy, only person alive to use physical bullets rather than laser weapons. Why not follow the story of him and his crew?
1. Chapter 1

**Galaxy's most dangerous creatures, entry number seven in the list.**

_Little is known of the origins of human beings, as it is something they guard jealously, all we know is that their race, following the trend by which they name everything registered by their brand of science, the Homo Sapiens Sapiens, has been around for at least a hundred millennia._

_Hailing of the Planet Earth, in the Sol System in the Unknown regions of the Galaxy, humans started moving to other planets when their population reached the ten billion, colonizers have since mixed with other compatible species1, somehow all the human genes come out on top, only ten percent of the non-human parent's genes can be found in a baby._

_The main dangers of crossing a human become apparent when one is running away from them, as a human can last eleven days without sleeping before dying, and their walking speed is topped at ten kilometres an hour, and are able to triple, sometimes quadruple that speed when going at their fastest, though running rapidly drains their stamina._

_An hour of sleep is enough for a human to keep moving for ten hours, their optimal four hours gives them three times that._

_Another thing to be noted is that while uncommon in this times of energy weapons, humans of the past often dipped their projectiles in their spit before putting them in their clips, for it is a well known fact all over that human saliva is unlikely not to infect a wound it touches, only wookies and hutts are exempt from this effect. Currently, human saliva is widely used by bounty hunters and capture squads for immobilizing a target._

_In the same topic, humans are also the most creative minds in the galaxy, not the smartest, but human children question what they learn, wanting to know why they do so and trying to understand what happens when things are not done in the conventional way. A human scientist was the leader of the mandalorian armour development._

_Another human strength is that unlike many other species they do not go into shuck unless they are hit on a lethal, soft spot, this is to say their heart, lungs, stomach or kidney. Broken bones, flesh wounds, infections and poisoning, all are things a human can deal with, if given the right equipment, a rigid piece of wood or stone can serve them for setting a bone, while plants, if they prepare them correctly their stomach can digest herbs to create antidotes and medicines._

_Recreational activities of humans include ingestion of alcohol in doses of 0.25 in their bloodstream, this is enough to normally leave them without proper motor skills, so if one is planning to assassinate a human the best time to do it is when they are inebriated_

_Also a recreational activity is the consumption of smokes, this is done by either inhaling burning tobacco, cannabis or other dried plants, each plant smoked has a different effect on humans._

_There are rumours that on Earth one can find several clubs dedicated to fist fighting, some of them transmitting around the globe._

_As any other creature, humans have weaknesses: the main one mentioned above, another one is that their civilians for the most part rely on military forces to keep them safe, though not all civilians are defenceless, they are prone to addictions, the females are in a constant state of hormonal change and the males are hormone driven, their children, though it was a standard month longer not five millennia ago, are defenceless for their first week._

_A human's reflexes are not anything to scoff at, even though they are not within the top thirty in speed reactions. They are able to hit a ball the size of an adult's fist when it is moving at 150 kilometres an hour._

_It has been noted that while not recommended, a human approaching the age of ten can still be trained in the ways of the force, despite the fact that the current head of the jedi council, master Yoda, does not like taking children over the age of three for other species, outright refusing some when they reach the age of seven._

_There are human methods of achieving emotionlessness, though it is generally agreed that to use them on a child of any specie is one of the worst things to do, and legal only in Hutt territories, where slavery is still practiced publicly._

_Footnote 1: humans are compatible with most humanoid mammals, twi'leks and zabraks have made their sub-species when breeding with humans, and there is a coruscantian life form that evolved from selective breeding with attractive humans._

_(A human named Brick Strum is the number 42 in the most dangerous bounty hunters, Jango Fett, the mandalorian, number 1 in the list, has made comments that he prefers working with him and his crew than with Cad Bane, number 2 in the list)_


	2. Chapter 2

***Sol System, Uncharted territories*1750hrs local time*2000hrs standard time***

"This is Brick Strum, captain of the Dusk Bringer, asking for permission to board the Flagship Odin" The system surrounded by the strongest human fleet, headed by the most advanced, best armed ship in the galaxy, the reason why the mandalorian wars, then later the republic vs. Revan war, had not even touched planet Earth.

"State your business, Strum, or give the proper landing coded" the radio operator on board of The Odin transmitted.

"The Trade Federation leader hired me to tell the UN leaders that he wanted a meeting, and I also want to cash in a bounty on Honka'tis, the twil'ek that infiltrated the system last standard month."

"You can board The Odin, Strum, but your non-human crew must stay on your ship at all times," The General of the Odin swapped places with the radio operator, the ologram going from a slightly round face to a diamond shaped one, "a twi'lek, a zabrak, a wookie, a togruta, a nautolan, a zeltron and one droid have to stay, the two humans with you can come"

"Understood General, but my ship is not getting near yours, I'm going to board in a fighter," Brick smirked at the hologram as it showed discomfort.

"Very well, I assume then, that the droid will be on it," the General said.

"Aye, a TD-R4, trusty thing, though it can't do anything but repairs," The transmission ended.

"Which one are you taking?" The togruta asked, she was red, like most of her people, and her lekku reached her waist, and the horns on her head were a foot long, getting her total height to 2 m.

"I'm taking the dart, she's our fastest," Brick was very image of the human warrior, 1.80 m, his height making him look as if he had less muscle than he actually did, all of it was hid during combat by his mercenary armor.

"Think Tronk has it ready?" Tronk was the wookie and engineer of the crew, the tallest of them all standing at 2.50 m, he never went anywhere without his bowcaster and fusion cutter, and he had figured out how to make the engine run fully on hydrogen or methane, depending on the system and route.

"He always does, I wouldn't have hired him if he was not, you know that Niteko," All of the crew had been hired at first, and then just stayed with Brick, liking it better than hunting alone.

"Yes, you have mentioned that you only travel with us because of our talents," Niteko was the best pilot of the crew, she had made the cockpit of the Dusk Bringer her personal quarters, and it was because of her that they had yet to make a serious repair to the ship.

"Oi, Brick, you taking off or what?" the twi'lek of the crew, also the navigator and planer, she was 1.68, making her the second shortest, purple, lean, and easily the smartest of them all, her lekku reaching to just under her chest, giving her the thinking capacity to plan a perfect attack route in seconds.

"Right, Amela, plan a slingshot, I want to get out of the system as soon as possible," The twi'lek nodded and set herself to work on the navigation computer.

The Dusk Bringer was not a large ship, divided in living quarters; which included a kitchen and dining room, cockpit, training area; this included an obstacle course and a shooting range, hangar; where the four space fighters were, and the cargo hold in the belly of ship, accessible only by the kitchen or a trapdoor on the underside.

"Ryakki, I'm taking the Dart, magnetize everything else, and keep her magnets ready, we're doing a slingshot out of here," the wookie said something in his native language, "It's not that I don't trust my specie, but you have to remember that military intelligence is an oxymoron," A laughing statement, "It applies to every being."

The dart was shaped like its namesake, a long, thin nose, the pilot position just wide enough for Niteko to sit a bit hunched, its fins were long, two meters each near the engine, which was able to produce enough thrust for three minutes in the hyperspace before it ran out of fuel.

This did not mean that it was defenseless, as it had a laser cannon at the nose, its rate of fire as fast as common infantry assault rifle, making it the perfect fighter for chasing a target.

Booting up the fighter, Brick shot off the hangar of the Dusk Bringer at a speed most would be surprised for a human to fly at. The human eyes, after all, got tunnel vision at a mere 150 kilometers an hour.

It was a quick flight, little more than a minute, just enough time to admire the enormity of the capital class space station, large enough that it did not need magnets for the repair robots and personnel. Holding thirty eight landing bays along its equator, the Odin was roughly circular in shape, with a hundred times more firepower than a normal capital ship.

It was visible at night from Earth, a single star as visible as Mars, twice as far from the Third Rock.

"D-459, land in hangar 28, it is the closest to bridge," Came the order, and Brick did not hesitate, doing a maneuver and landing with the nose pointing outwards.

"Who's taking me to the General, the Trade Federation wants me to deliver the message before the Naboo year is done" A single soldier clad in a green armor with yellow stripes stepped forwards "Sargent."

"Roger Davis, British Airborne Division," The soldier, head covered by the helmet/HUD device, "General Patton tasked me to take you to the bridge."

"Then let's go, I still gotta cash that bounty," Brick, like a true hunter was already assessing every possible way out, the threat level around him, and whether or not he could get away with taking a hostage on his way out.

"General Patton said that you can cash it in with him, as long as you have the head, sir," Davis said, his finger near the trigger of his rifle.

"Something on your mind, Davis?" Brick asked the soldier after some uncomfortable moments of silence.

"Sorry sir, but I was wondering…" Davis trailed off, continuing only after Brick waved him on, "I was wondering why a bounty hunter of your caliber would travel in a group, I mean, I understand why you would want a twi'lek or a zeltron, but it is odd for a bounty hunters to travel in groups for more than one job."

"First of Davis, if you dare talk about my crew as if they were animals or toys then I will make sure that you live a life with terminal pain," Davis clutched his rifle tighter, "Second, I have a member of specie nine and ten in the ten most dangerous, zabrak and wookie, the perfect seductress, zeltron, the smartest woman in the galaxy, according to me, a twi'lek, a venomous togruta, a force using nautolan, and two humans, a telekinetic one and a sharpshooter of Mandalo," Brick smiled dangerously, "Want to tell me something is wrong with my crew?"

"No, sir, sorry for the disrespect," the rest of the trek was spent silence.

"Brick Strum, number thirty eight most successful bounty hunter, Jango Fett, the number one in the list, has expressed that you and your crew are the most organized he has seen, and that your teamwork makes up for what you do not have in fire power, and now you have business with the UN, so, what brings you here?"

Brick raised his left hand, "Connect to the cargo bay, show them Honka'tis, the corpse," the hologram distorted the color of the corpse, but one could not deny that the twi'lek, once green, now was a pale color, paler than what the usual hologram did, "I'll take my cash first, unless you want me to drop the corpse from the bay so you can pick it up."

"Not needed Strum, just take this," Patton handed Brick a card, "Fifteen thousand standard credits in it, I suppose you have an exchange terminal in your ship," All hunters did, even the rookie ones, never know when someone paid in cards rather than cash.

"Next, the leader of the Trade Federation wants to know if you would like to join the Confederacy of Independent Systems, even though Earth is an independent body with no ties to the Republic," Brick fished something out of his robes, briefly showing the armor he had underneath, "here's the holocron he gave me, I'm out, unless you want to hire me to deliver the answer?"

The General shook his head and waved him away, "I will send a courier of my own, first to the UN, then to them, you are free to go Strum, do whatever you want with the twi'lek's body, I don't care," Brick nodded and left the dark bridge, Davis trailing behind him. Ten minutes later he was back on the Dusk Bringer.

"The Dart is magnetized in, we're moving, set course to Courscant, I believe Master Yoda wanted to talk about Stax, can't let Master Fisto's brother be a bounty hunter after all," They went past Jupiter, using its pull to get them out of the Sol system.

"My brother and I have different morals; he believes in justice, I believe in money," the Nuetolan was green in color, standing ten cm shorter than Brick, his sensory tentacles never stayed still, always giving something away, or finding it, "He was taken, my parents did not want the same for me"

"Yes, you've told us before, Stax, we lost count already" the Zeltron of the crew was pink, with purple eyes, but her pheromones made her the most attractive on board, but she was only 1.59 m, making her the shortest too.

"Do not antagonize him Aela, he is a force user," the Mandalorian merc came into the cockpit, standing at 1.78 m, with twin disruptor repeaters strapped to his waist, short brown hair covering his scalp, "Sugi and Lydia are in the shooting range," the Mandalo sat himself next to Niteko.

"Do not touch the computer," Niteko said to him, "I don't want any trouble until we're out of the system."

"She can still throw you out the window Loki," the zabrak, Sugi, all 1.83 m of her, leaned on the blast door's frame, "where are we going after Courscant?"

"1313, see if there is any job, if not we go to Tattooine, see if the Hutt have any job, otherwise free some slaves," The captain of the Dusk yawned, "Set the auto pilot Niteko, tomorrow is a busy day, everyone else to sleep now, I want us at our best for sector 1313."

"Understood Cap, understood"

_Encyclopedia Galactica, Atmospheres_

_Of the nearing to a billion planets of the galaxy, only a quarter are of an atmosphere type I or II, that is to say, planets that have only oxygen (Type I) or enough oxygen and a low level of pollution (Type II)_

_There are planets, like Coruscan, that on the upper atmosphere there is pure oxygen, but as one goes lower the atmosphere starts getting thinner on oxygen and thicker with non-breathable gases. Once one reaches sector 1465, the atmosphere is the same as a type IV planet._

_Of the quarter billion planets in the galaxy with breathable atmospheres, only a third of that has a type one atmosphere, all planets in which life is indigenous, and some like Kamino._


	3. Chapter 3

***Space*1240 standard hours***

People usually believed that in space you had an instrument that kept you level with a planets horizon. The people that believed this were wrong and usually never left their planet.

Since there was no gravity in the vacuum, the instruments that, when flying above a planet, kept the belly of the ships towards the surface were useless. Therefore, dogfights, space battles and station attacks were usually staged with two different perspectives, each side thinking that the other was upside down.

Sometimes the fighter pilots saw each other's faces when maneuvering.

Another common misconception was that only Jedi and Republic enforcers ever tried attacking bounty hunters and pirates.

There was no syndicate for bounty hunters, it was a backstabbing trade, where the man you worked with a standard month ago would kill you when hired for it, without a hint of remorse.

The best two at the trade were the Mandalorian Jango Fett and the Duross Cad Bane, both of whom were constantly struggling to outdo one another, constantly getting in fights in the outer rim whenever there was a first come first served bounty.

Brick Strum, Lydia Mountdweller and David Armstrong the humans, Alema'merso the twi'lek, Niteko the togruta, Tronk the wookie, Stax Fisto the Nuetolan, Aela the zeltron and Sugi the Zabrak were one of the only three bounty hunter crews in the galaxy, and the only one with mixed species. Not only that but before they joined up they were all part of the top fifty hunters, low in the ranking, but still in it.

It was the fifty hunters in this list that received the most attention, both by the Republic enforcers and other hunters, though mostly overconfident rookies and way over their heads, ending up death before their career took off.

Space pirates were another thing altogether, this had the most-wanted list and this actually worked with crews, though it was still a very cutthroat trade, one where the life expectancy was half the usual of a civilian for any given specie.

Pirates concentrated mostly in crimes; kidnapping, ransoming, slave trading, the occasional planetary blockade when it was a fleet rather than a single spaceship. The Hutt slave ring relied on pirates for getting them merchandise. Trandoshians more often than not were the ones that formed pirate crews.

The Unknown regions and the outer rim had the highest number of pirate crews, since the influence of the core worlds, and through them the enforcers, was little.

Capital Class space ships did not have to deal with this problem, as they had enough firepower do destroy an asteroid. Space Frigates were also able to deal with the problem, especially the fastest ones, thanks to auto-turrets.

Space Brigs were less suited for that kind of thing, take the Dusk Bringer, which had one frontal canon, a belly cannon, a fin cannon and a tail cannon, while better armed than space bomber, it still needed help from fighters, which were The Dart, The Swallow, The Squid and The Hawk, when dealing with something bigger than a fighter squad.

The crew was lucky enough not to come by anything but a couple of runners on their way to Coruscant, but it was not so surprising, as halfway there they entered the Corelian Trade Spine, one of the many trade routes around the galaxy. From there one it was smooth sailing, and they arrived to the space around Coruscant just as the sun set over the part of the planet that housed the Jedi Temple/Council.

They would have to wait until standard morning to go down to the surface

* * *

><p><strong>*Jedi Temple*1000 standard hours*<strong>

Jedi temple was one of the three tallest buildings in Level 1; the Senate Building and the Interplanetary Trade Federation HQ were just as big.

The Dusk Bringer landed in one of the only bays the temple had, its three wings folding forwards and the landing gear opening.

"It is good to see you again brother," Jedi Knight Fisto, along with one of the elderly Masters, Qui-Gon Gin, and his padawan, was there to greet the crew as they landed.

"Likewise Kit, I just hope you won't try to force me to join you order," the older, by three years, Nuetolan smiled and hugged his younger brother.

"I wouldn't try, you always were the impulsive one," Kit looked at the head tails on his brother, "They've grown, and they look stronger," he said.

"Of course they are, Aela and I can both use pheromones for communication, and Amela, Niteko and I can use them when we don't want the Cap to know something," Stax explained.

"Not that it works every time, I'm captain for a reason, knowledge of twelve verbal languages, three bodily ones, and one based in around dancing," Brick stepped up to Stax, "But since you're the second in command I let you get away with this stuff," Stax sighed, so Brick stepped up to Qui-Gon Gin, leaving the brothers to talk.

"Strum, it has been a while," The old master said, "I see you still have the blade you crafted," the young padawan by Qui-Gon's side looked curiously at the hunter's belt.

"He has a light saber, why?" the teen asked him.

"While agreed that only a Jedi can use a light saber, or variants, to its utmost potential, Stax is a force using man, he can keep himself by being dismembered," Brick said, "And since I was one of the best swordsmen on Earth before I started chasing bounties, I have two vibroblades myself, for when I can't use either my blasters nor my wrist shooters"

"But shouldn't he be an acolyte then?" the padawan asked again.

"While he does have an above average midi-chlorian count, and he knows how to manipulate the Force," Brick explained, "Stax is a free spirit, he likes roaming the galaxy, and he would not like to be tied down anywhere, none of us would."

"Young Strum is a bounty hunter, the captain of the crew where Kit's brother works, all of them started young, a few years older than what you are now, seventeen standard, I believe," Strum nodded, "all of them are in their early twenties, but they are some of the best."

"And we will only climb higher now, until all of us are better than Jango Fett," The Zabrak of the crew cut into the conversation, "And our name will go in history."

"Ambitious, as long as you keep in mind that you may not live past fifty standard" Qui-Gon said, "Unless you allow Kaminoans to work on you."

"No, not kaminoan manipulation," Brick said adamantly, "For genetic manipulation go to Earth, for cloning to Kamino," The crew sighed and rolled their eyes, "The scientists back on my birth planet have every genome figured out, I could pull strings and give us an extra fifty years."

"Useless as it would be, we're bounty hunters, the point of our work is the thrill of the fights, living quick and dying before we start being useless," Aela said, hugging her captain from behind, "Though never looking a day past twenty five would be good."

"You keep interesting company, Strum," Qui-Gon whacked his student in the back on the head he noticed that the boy was staring at the zeltron, snapping the boy out of a trance.

"Travel a day with us and you'll not get out sane," Lydia, a brunette that stood a bit over 1.60 meters, she was Brick's cousin, they had grown up together, "We're the most peculiar crew you'll ever encounter."

"Very well, come now, Master Yoda will be waiting," Qui-Gon started to walk away, and the whole time Stax and Kit did not stop talking to each other.

* * *

><p><strong>*Jedi council chambers*twenty minutes later*<strong>

"This session started is, about young Stax, talk we will," Master Yoda was what humans thought Martians would be like when Mars was still habitable, "A Jedi he cannot be, but The Force he can use"

"And I don't want to stay here in Coruscant, I'm a free spirit, and I want to have a child," Stax was standing in the middle of the council, everyone else from the Dusk Bringer was sitting outside the hall, "Seriously, your creed is too restrictive."

"In place, for a reason, it is," Yoda said in a slight scolding tone, "To anger, love may lead, to hate, anger leads, and to the Dark Side, hate leads."

"Yes, but I don't hate anything, and it's not like I abuse The Force, I only use it in combat, and to save everyone's ass," Stax ran a hand through his head tails, "Look, Cap and I have reached an agreement, he has a weapon loaded with the deadliest poison that can be delivered to my species, should I ever turn against the morals we have, then he will use it."

"That still leaves us with the problem of a Force user running around unchecked," Master Ki-Adi Mudi said, half the council, even the ones that were currently holograms, nodding in agreement, "Not when we know that you are one."

"Look, if you want to keep track of me then do it, it's not like I don't want a reputation, but there is no way in Mustafar that I am staying grounded in Coruscant, not even if you pay me."

"Then a Knight to you, perhaps, we could assign"

One of the councilmen looked scandalized, "Master, you can't be serious, I agree that this bounty hunter needs to be tracked, but the last padawan that moved on to being a knight was given his title only a year ago, and all experienced ones have a padawan right now, even Watser," Let it be known that Watser was one of the middle generation of current knights, and he was not one that followed authority, so he was a assigned a padwan just like him.

"If I may make a suggestion," a green, very old looking man, member of the few botanical, self-propelled sentient species, "Why not assign a Jedi repair droid to them, that way his crew…"

"Not mine, Brick's"

"…Can benefit, rather than their reputation suffering from having a Jedi with them, if your captain signs a contract from us saying that he will not dump the repair droid to space, the droid itself serving as compensation, some credits so they can modify it if they want, and also a clause saying they accept the droid to send their location once a fortnight."

"I like that better than making one of our knights the mission to follow them, bring your Captain in," Dooku said.

Two minutes later Stax had not moved an inch, yet Brick came in. It was bloody useful having two crewmembers that knew how to speak through pheromones.

"Right, Aela said that you had something to try and sell to me," no one missed how his hands, crossed, were dangerously close to his waist.

So they explained what they wanted him to sign, and after a lot of negotiation, the only thing that the Jedi council managed was that the Captain of the Dusk Bringer would take the core of their most unruly astrodroid, which would then be used as the central stone of a droid that would both serve as a battle droid and as a protocol droid, reporting the position of the ship once a week.

They did receive, however, the assurance that if they ever needed the help of the Dusk Bringer, they would get it with a 90% discount, as long as Kit Fisto remained a Jedi, or as long as they were not hired to commit a crime that went against the morals of the crew.

It was safe to say that, while some of the Jedi Council were not totally happy with the situation, it was definitely better than having the brother of one of their most promising Jedi, a brother that could also use the force, though not to the extent that Kit could, running around and possibly spreading rumors about the Jedi order.

As long as the younger Fisto did not use the Force in simple things like moving a drink from the other side of the room to him, then none of them were concerned, because they were sure that they could keep track of the most promising crew of bounty hunters of the Modern Republic era.


	4. Chapter 4

***Coruscant*Black Market warehouse***

"I hate 1313," Alema said, shooting the foot of a pig-like being that wandered to close to her.

"So do I, but it is the best place to get work in Coruscant, in all the core worlds really," all of them were wearing their customized armor, based around the standard Mandalorian gear, but with several modifications to deal with the variety of the crew.

For example, Amela's and Niteko's had a half helmet that covered their lekku, preventing them from being snagged, though everyone could figure they were not humans.

Stax' had a full helmet, broader than Niteko's to cover all of his tentacles. Aela wore only a pair of HUD glasses on her head, as did Sugi, in contrast to the full helmet that Lydia and David wore.

And then there was Brick, who only wore a pair of HUD googles and light Mandalo armor.

"And with a wookie here they will think twice before even opening their mouths," Stax continued from where he left off, "How long until we land a fast job? I want to go to Tattoine soon."

"You're in luck, I got us a pay-up-front job in Falleen, one of the natives wants us to kill a Vong that has stirred up trouble in the 501 mountain, somehow the request got all the way here rather than to Corelia, but we're looking a gift horse in the mouth, are we?"

All gave negatives, "What is a zealot doing in Falleen anyway?" Aela asked

"That is for the client to wonder, all we have to do is kill him before he starts a genocidal campaign," Stax stood up, sweeping a credit pouch of an unsuspecting criminal. Out here, it was every man on his own.

Besides, all of them needed some clips for their blasters, and Brick's bullet spitter needed ammo that was rare anywhere but in the most primitive worlds where phosphorus and charcoal were common, so they always had a third of the available money on hand for ammo, even if their ship was equipped with blaster ammo manufacturing.

"Let's go people, it's a day's travel at max speed, we need a move on if we want to be done by the end of the week," No one hesitated in following Brick, even as a shadowed figure watched them.

"Keep an eye on them Sidius, when we rise to power, bounty hunters like them will be the best troops," the figure said.

"Understood Master"

* * *

><p><strong>*Falleen system*<strong>

Falleen was a planet in the mid rim, its atmosphere rich in oxygen, nitrogen and carbon, with enough humidity that even the most fish sentient species could breathe comfortably in it, if with some slight gill trouble.

The indigenous sentient specie of the planet, uncreatively named Falleen, were some of the smartest, having taken to space travel only a few decades after the first off-planets ship arrived, and with military power strong enough to stand up to the people that wanted to destroy the forests for factory production.

The Falleen were reptilian in nature, much like all the species indigenous to the planet, but unlike most, the Falleen were actually humanoid, and hard to differentiate from green-skinned mammalian species if not for the slanted eyes and the third lid. Thanks to that, they had quickly risen through the galaxy's ranks, from a specie from a backwater planet to one of the most numerous and most varied species.

Hell, Jabba the Hutt had some on his court.

The Vongs on the other hand, were indigenous to a planet not yet explored, in the wild space, and usually kept to their planet, with only two or three appearing in heavily populated planets, only to be killed after a few months when their religious overzealousness, the same thing that used to create wars on Earth all through their thirtieth century, led them to making dangerous enemies, enemies with contacts.

Their target was one of the Vong, and had been stirring up trouble in the towns at the foot of mountain 501, one of the twenty or so mountains large enough to have snow on their peaks, a few miles away from where one of the main Falleen cities was located.

Their client was a merchant who had taken a transport vessel through the Corelian Run with vegetables for the people of Coruscant, and after subtly inquiring about the place where everyone was unknown and no one was seen, posted the job request, and then left on another run, this time carrying the only thing that Coruscant was the best place to go for.

Shit, many kinds of it, from human, to Trando, Twi'lek to Zeltron, Wookie to Gungans.

Basically, Coruscant was a massive crap factory, but it kept them afloat, providing manure to rural planets.

Back to their Target, the Vong was starting to use his brand of genetics to engineer a weapon that would target and destroy all technology in the planet, since their religion taught that any technology that was not organic in nature was evil and deserved to be destroyed.

It would be a tricky business, as all assassination works were, since if the ship landed too close to the target, chance were that he/she/it would see them coming, and if they landed too far off then chances were that they would miss him or get there after the given deadline, which in this case was after the weapon of technological destruction was deployed

That was not accounting for things that could go wrong during the scouting, like rumors starting about the crew, which could potentially tip off the target, or the local news reporting an unauthorized landing.

It was here that one of the greatest, most pessimist human minds that spread across the galaxy, applied to all scenarios; Murphy.

Greatest strategic mind.

Right after Tsun-Su.

It was for this reason that the Dusk Bringer stayed in orbit for a full cycle, with Niteko and Amela discussing the best landing place and route for doing so, while the rest of the crew was deciding the weapons for the job.

"It can't be anything to visible, if the Vong has underlings then it is likely that they'll see my muzzle flash, and Tronk's bowcaster is too loud, and thermal detonators while effective, are not an option," the whole battle ready part of the crew was down in the armory, their arsenal in display.

"We could use ion detonators and weapons, they barely let out a hum," David said, only to be answered by wookie growls, "Yes, I doubt we'll go against droids, but we don't have subsonic weaponry"

"We do have flame throwers, and I doubt the lair will be made of flammable material," Lydia pointed at the four containers, each with five liters of gas in it, "Two full minutes of continuous fire."

"And we have compressed air guns, just hoarding them really," Aela pointed at the three rifles nobody ever used for anything but target practice, "and they are mostly silent, we take them, the flame throwers, and two gas grenades a head"

"And this is where we thank our foresight for getting the stealth field generators," Stax held the collar devices for everyone, only Aela not taking them, "Right, zeltron, telepath"

"And downright sexy," she grabbed one of the extra vibroblades Brick kept, tying it to her waist, "I suppose the brainy girls are staying here"

"Yes, Niteko and Amela want to say in the ship, Niteko will be manning a turret," Brick holstered his twin blades, strapped the flamethrower to his wrists, and threw the air rifle to Tronk, while Stax strapped his light saber.

"They'll also make camp out of our landing place, so we can sleep outdoors, Falleen is too beautiful not to do so."

No one argued that.

* * *

><p><strong>*Days later*<strong>

A full standard week it had taken them to learn the exact location of their target, days full of scouting, listening and observing, days of being nothing more than people traveling the world, wanting to see other major Falleen cities.

The Vong they had been hired to kill was a creature of habit, it stepped out to its balcony every morning for a prayer, this lasting for 30 minutes, it had nothing to do for two hours afterwards, only meditating, after which it would drink some kind of beverage he prepared by himself, as it had no servants. At noon everyday it would go to the city to try and spread his religion, criticizing the technology flying above their head, the barges that went from city to city, this would last until he went to a farm, killed an animal and fed on it raw, tormenting everyone as he walked back to the plaza with the entrails hanging from his neck and blood covering his front and arms.

At sundown he would go back to the mountain, and pray for three hours, after which he would go to sleep.

They would block all his ways out, flood the house with gas and then light it, erasing all trace of them being involved in the killing.

Simple, quick, effective, the motto of all bounty hunters.

They would invade his house during the time he was in the town, and just in case it had changed its genetic make-up, they would put a poison needle hidden under the bed pillow, and fill the beverage supply with highly concentrated alcohol, inducing poisoning.

Out of the planet a whole week before the pod race in Tattoine, it would prove to be an interesting thing to watch, or at least Stax said so.

* * *

><p><em>Encyclopedia Galactica, extract from Coruscant section, subsection "Sectors," Article 1313<em>

_The only one place more wretched than sector 1313 of the galactic capital is Mos Eisley in Tattoine, though it is by many considered a close match._

_Sector 1313 of Coruscant has the main black market trade post of the Core Worlds, it is also the best place for hiring bounty hunters in said planet, as it has the most cantinas, bars, dance clubs, armories, and drug shops per capita than all other sectors. All places which are good for listening in._

_It also has a lot of warehouse, all of which appear abandoned, even though the local authorities know they are not, they can do nothing to clear the criminals from it since whenever there is a raid planned someone gives the traders the slip and by the time the police force comes they are no longer in place, all traces erased and all smuggled items disappeared._

_It is not recommended for a hitchhiker to ever step into sector 1313, stay to the upper 500 levels, where the police can do their thing and the Jedi order can appear in a flash in case of a crisis._

_To the up and coming bounty hunter, sector 1313 is the best place to make a name in the core and deep core planets, that is if you do not offend someone better._


	5. Chapter 5

***Mos Eisley*Tattoine*1534 standard time***

"Ah, the capital of Tattoine" Stax kicked a corpse aside, an unfortunate human upstart, "Never be said that we don't like places like these."

"I hate this place" Alema said, shooting an insect that wandered too close to her, the poor bastard dropping faster than a ship without engines.

"So you've said," Loki spared a look at the corpse, noticing the scavengers ripping into it, "Oi, wise leader, can we stop by the tavern?"

"After we go buy the parts to make the core they gave us into a proper battle droid," Brick answered, asking himself if he should have made everyone wear the helmets.

The Mos Eisley Market Zone was no better than the rest of the city. Owners walking around, paying for stuff while making the slaves they had with them carry it, in other cases the owner parading them around like they were animals.

The whole crew, Alema and Tronk more than anyone, wanted to kill every owner, if they did not know that it would get them in trouble with the Hutt, unofficial rulers of the sector, and being always willing to pay for bounty hunters.

Ten minutes later they came across a stall that sold what Brick was looking for.

"What do you mean eight thousand credits, that's what a whole protocol droid costs!" The insect glared at him, and Brick was sorely tempted to shoot him and be done with this scammer. The crew was looking around, "I'm not even asking for a skeleton, just the bloody parts!"

"And you'll only find them here, unless you want to go to the trade federation," the bug said, sounding smug.

"Listen here," Brick hissed, going against his personality by pulling out his vibroblade, "You either sell me these parts for what they are actually worth, or I'll tell Jabba that you've been avoiding taxes."

Brick had no doubt that the insect would be afraid not only for his life but for his freedom, because Jabba would have him put on a cell before feeding him to the Ragnok, "That will be three thousand credits," the insect gulped.

"I knew you would see reason," Brick smiled.

Seriously, trying to sell robot parts for three times their price.

The tavern was on the end of town opposite to where they had landed, but that was another reason they had gone to the parts supplier first.

The tavern was close to the Hutt docks, making it one of the most popular places for bounty hunters, especially those that could claim they had worked with the leader of the Hutta before.

"OI, STRUM" The captain looked at the corner booth, where a man with a familiar light blue armor was sitting by himself.

The crew of the Dusk Bringer went over, ordering as soon as they sat down, "Been a while, Strum, you out of job in the Core?" Jango Fett was the best bounty hunter in the trade, and could easily retire if he had anything else that held his pride other than his reputation.

"I would prefer the Core to here," Alema said, "Less chance of being captured."

Jango looked at her and then at Tronk, "Understandable, although I am surprised you got the full armor rather than just the chest," he pointed at Aela.

The Zeltron scowled, "The swine here would try to grope me if wore anything else."

"Yes, few people respect others here in Tattoine," Jango took a swig from his glass, tapping his helmet absently, "Despite that, there are few places that pay better than here."

They all nodded, "What brings The Mandalorian to Hutt Territory, anyway?" Brick asked.

"A bodyguard job, with the pod race that Jabba sponsors coming, he wants someone to guard his slimy ass," the hunter sighed, "After that, I heard that the Kaminoans wanted a military sample in exchange of refuge."

"Thinking of retiring?" Lydia said.

"Not at all," Answered the Mando, "But a home base would give me benefits, and Kaminoan poisons and venoms are quite useful in the trade."

Tronk growled at a patron that tried to get a collar on him, making the slaver flinch and leave.

"Why do the Kaminoans want a DNA sample from a soldier?" Asked Brick, "I thought they were neutral in all conflicts."

"What little info they gave me, they were commissioned to create an army," Jango shrugged, "They wouldn't say for whom, but I don't think it's for a private benefactor."

"So what, you thinking there's war on the horizon?" Lydia stared at the hunter.

"Perhaps, but if what my gut is telling me is correct, then I have no doubt there will be plenty of profit for hunters in the future."

And silence fell.

Bounty hunters were always more successful in times of war, because they could usually perform things that not even commandos could, thanks to the stealth most, if not all hunters, were capable of maintaining.

This made them valuable for sabotaging, and their skill leagues above the common soldier made more than perfect for the battlefront.

The Mandalorian stood, "Well, the assignment starts soon, until we meet again, Strum and company."

And as he left, silence reigned in the small booth of the bar.

After all, it was not every day that you were told war was just around the corner.

* * *

><p><strong>Extract from the Encyclopedia Galactica, The Hutta, Jabba the Hutt<strong>

_The slug responsible for the peace, as fragile as it is, in the planet of Tattoine. This hermaphrodite comes from the long established line of Hutt, originally of the planet of Hutta, and then expanded across the outer rim._

_Jabba the Hutt is one of the greatest tradesman, slave master, bar owner, gangster, sponsor and business owner of the outer ring. With hands almost everywhere, both in the underworld and in the public eye, not that he hasn't covered his tracks enough for his more shady deals to be noticed, if you want either a job, to be rid of your free will, or wish for a very big loan from a shark, then Jabba is your man._

_However, as every other member of his species, his mobility and communication capability are both very much limited, so it is a strange sight to see him without a protocol droid by his side, and a mobile platform under him if he is making a public appearance._

_His position, however, has made him as targeted as he is powerful, so it is also not uncommon to see him with a protection detail that can range from a single bounty hunter, to a full platoon of soldiers for hire._

_This, amongst many other things, discourages attackers from making a hit against the tycoon, and it is rumored that when it does happen, there is a very big congregation in his palace, which leads this scribe to believe that he usually makes an attraction of captured hit men and people that go against him._

_The biggest event..._


	6. Chapter 6

**A replacement for the last chapter I posted, I wasn't completely happy how it turned out, I mischaracterized Jango, and I hate doing that, so I scrapped most of the conversation and restarted from there.**

**Feel free to skip the first bit, it's still the same**

* * *

><p>*<strong>Tattoine*<strong>

"Okay, crew, despite what Jango said, we're still gonna operate as we have before, however if war breaks out, we're no doubt going to be hired a lot." All the Dusk bringer was seating at the mess hall of the ship, Brick pacing around, "That means we're likely to be spread thin, too many jobs for us and too little time to do them, we'll need a better hyper drive, which means going to Corelia.

"I've tried to find a job there, but there's not too much choice, a hit on a local with a very loud voice against corruption, a merchant that refuses to serve insect species, a food run and a smuggling of drugs, nothing when compared to the offers we get here, smuggling, delivery, hit and run, a contract for the pod race, either to deal with the tuskans or to sabotage a racer, we got a plot against jaba, a kidnapping of a local rich guy, thief of a piece of art, defence of said piece of art, you chose, the list goes on

"The highest paying are the thief of the piece of art, and a hit on the children of a local merchant; the theft would take us to a nutjob in Mustafar, head of a mining operation there, the hit on the children gets us off the planet, point, but the masterpiece in question is inside of Jabba's collection.

"Next best job would be the sabotage of one of the racers of the pod event, make sure he never leaves the start line, we get extra money if he doesn't come out without need of a bacta tank, and a bigger bonus if he doesn't make it out.

"What do you say we take for our next pay check?"

"I say we go for the sabotage" David said, cleaning his rifle, "None of us have the stealth to sneak past all the trandoshian guards that the slug has, not even with the field generators"

"On the other hand..." Lydia leaned back, "What if talked to Jabba about the man, give him an alternative, he pays us to take out the thief, we fly to Mustafar, get paid, then kill him, and buy our hyperdrive"

"Problem with that, Lydia, is that I don't think Jabba is one for paying up front," David replied, looking up from his work, "However, if we sabotage that pod, make the guy lose enough flesh that he can't even get replacements fitted, we got a full bonus, and probably enough for some more shield generators"

Tronk gave a series of serious growls and howls, pointing at where their suits of armour were kept, currently brown from the sandstorm they had caught before entering the ship.

"He's right, our shields are not young enough to keep up with new weapons," Alema said, even if she kept her eyes closed, "We need to upgrade them, or at the very least give them a faster recharge and higher load capacity"

"So, I say we take the sabotage, two hits, and theft, there were two easy hits, a merchant that holds a grudge, and a man that blackmailed a peacekeeper's daughter, both spend a lot of time in public, so we can take them out at the same time, meanwhile, Sugi and Stax sneak into the house of the appointed mayor and take his collection of historic holocrones, we have to plan everything so that we are done the day of the pod race, and we leave as soon as we get paid." Brick looked at his crew, the people he had been adventuring for nearly a decade now, "Let's get to it, people, we got two weeks"

The house they would be stealing from belonged to one of the few Neimodians that dared enter the outer rim without an escort, but that would only make sneaking in and out easier, as a Neimodian that confident was likely to have forgone protections inside his house, something that Stax and Sugi would make sure to exploit.

Their first hit was a Gossam, a reptilian species that most, with good reason, associated with greed. Little taller than a metter, Gossams were often blue in colour, with shrivelled heads and elongated neck. They were frail, however, relying in cunning and shrewdness to get them out of the line of fire, and it showed in their target, who had used the blackmail material on the daughter of the peacekeeper to become nearly untouchable in the village he lived in. The daughter, however, had an admirer, and he did not like that the reptile was using the object of his admirations for his own gains.

The second hit was on a Verpine, an insectoid species from the Roche asteroids, known for their aptitude at creating and remodelling existing technology, and they would no doubt recruit one to install or upgrade the current hyper drive on the ship and the shield generators on the armour. However, this particular one was not only as adept at sensing radio waves, limiting the communication between the team selected for taking him out, he was a very vindictive insect, and had taken offence to a resident of his village insulting his creation and banned him from it, incurring the wrath of their client, who now wanted the insect dead.

"Niteko, I leave you and Alema to take care of the Grossam, you both need to get out of the hot zone as soon as you confirm the kill, so try to make it a head shot, the gorier the better. Stax, you and Aela are going after the Verpine, your pheromones will make dealing around his radio wave sense easier, if not eliminate it from the board. Tronk, you, David and I will try to make the pod racer trust us, show us his pod and plant a bomb that takes him out. Lydia, you can choose between going with us three or with Niteko and Alema"

Brick left the ship to his crew members, they would do what they needed to. But now, he wanted to talk to Jango.

* * *

><p><strong>Mos Eisley bar<strong>

"Strum, you wanted to see me?" Jango was a handome man, he would admit it to everyone that asked without hesitation, why lie about such a trivial manner? But he was not here to admire the soldier, but to question him.

"Yes, you didn't tell me all you know, I want to have the biggest picture I can manage" He was also without his helmet, a testament to how much they both trusted each other, to be without the most important part of a bounty hunter.

The Mandalorian sighed deeply, "Yeah, I didn't tell you everything for a good reason, you're still inexperienced, as good as you are, and the only one that I know can keep his mouth closed on your crew is the ex-mando.

"Strum, war is coming, I don't know how long, but I do know that it's going to be large, larger than the outer rim. The trade federation is moving, I don't know if you've heard, but they've put a blockade around Naboo, and they're recruiting planets to join them, last I heard they got Geonosis on their side, and that planet has not accepted anyone other than Geonosians in ages.

"I am in my thirties Strum, I put ten, maybe fifteen years before Bane starts overtaking me, he's only a few years older than you, that's why I accepted the offer from the Kaminoans, a base of opperations other than a ship, I never set up a safe house, and it's about time I did."

"What do you suggest I do, then?" Brick looked at Jango eye to eye, "Train my crew is an obvious thing, but what else?"

"Get implants, modify your DNA so that you don't age as fast, set up safe houses, do what you can to make sure you and your crew don't die in your first open conflict"

"The Kaminoans, are they still searching for samples?"

"Not after I agreed, bes soldier in the galaxy and all that," Jango glared at Brick, "You want in on the pay." The Mando said matter-of-factly.

"Yes, no, I don't know" Brick picked up his helmet, looking at the action camera that transmitted everything that he saw during battle to the ship's console, to review his fights and find ways to get better, "You know the gut feeling"

"I wouldn't be alive if I didn't"

"Yeah, I've been thinking about that, about your clones, and for some reason, I get the feeling that it won't be good for the jedi" Brick thought to the Neutolan on his crew, the Force sensitive member, who would no doubt insist that they kidnap his brother should he learn of a plot against him

"Didn't know you could see the future" Fett leaned back, hands on his blaster.

"And I can't, I'm no jedi, the Force can't call out to me as it can to Stax, but the feeling is still there, nagging, telling me that if I don't do something, half my crew will end up dead."

"What do want me to do, I'm a warrior, not a politician"

"Talk to the Kaminoans, find out what specifications the clones have, or let me in with them, and I can do it myself"

"You're a dumb man encumbered by bonds, Strum, but I suppose I can do you this service, and note that I said service, I will be expecting pay in some form. One week from now, I'm meeting with them for the final negotiation, you can be there, or you can get lost, either way, that's your only chance"

Jango stood up, shot a lizard trying to sneak up on him, and walked out from the bar.

Brick followed soon after, his destination clear in mind.

* * *

><p><strong>*Dusk Bringer*<strong>

"Gather up everyone, gather up," Brick stared at the dessert from his place at the cockpit of the ship, "There's been a change of plans, I'm not gonna be involved on the operations against the pod racer."

Mutters of confusion answered him, "May I ask why?" said Stax.

"Jango invited me to Kamino, I wanna see the specifications of the clones, make sure they won't pose much of a threat to us" It wasn't a complete lie, he wanted to make sure they wouldn't be a threat to the Jedi order, even if he wasn't on good therms with them, he didn't want them gone, either.

There simply was too much profit to be made when people wanted things done under the Jedi noses.

"Clones of the best bounty hunter of the decade will be problematic" Amela said.

"Yeah, but we're on our way to take his place," Sugi said, "Anyway, shouldn't Aela go with you, you know, as she's the best sneak in the crew"

"Normally I would, yes," Brick looked at his crew, "But it's been a while sins I've flown solo, last time I separated from was, what? Ten, eleven months ago? We all got our specializations, but what did I train you all to remember?"

"A Jack/Jill of all trades, master of none, the one way to survive is to never overspecialize, an overspecialized hunter is as good as death once his antithesis comes around," all members said at the same time, with Tronk growling it out.

"The best code to follow is the one that is always true," Brick said, "I wanna practice my stealth some, and my hacking, a man can't only worry about having the biggest gun around."

"Was that a dick joke?" Lydia groaned

"Do you really have to ask?" Brick shook his head, "This means a change in plans of operation, I want the hits done before I leave, Lydia, you're with David and Tronk, incapacitate the racer, make sure he won't be able to apply for a prosthetic."

"I'll go with Alema and Niteko, I'm going to be the whistle-blower, shoot as soon as you get my signal, and go for the head, use a kinetic sniper if you can" Brick smiled grimly, "Let's do this shit"


	7. Chapter 7

***Tattoine***

"Okay, crew, despite what Jango said, we're still gonna operate as we have before, however if war breaks out, we're no doubt going to be hired a lot." All the Dusk bringer was seating at the mess hall of the ship, Brick pacing around, "That means we're likely to be spread thin, too many jobs for us and too little time to do them, we'll need a better hyper drive, which means going to Corelia.

"I've tried to find a job there, but there's not too much choice, a hit on a local with a very loud voice against corruption, a merchant that refuses to serve insect species, a food run and a smuggling of drugs, nothing when compared to the offers we get here, smuggling, delivery, hit and run, a contract for the pod race, either to deal with the tuskans or to sabotage a racer, we got a plot against jaba, a kidnapping of a local rich guy, thief of a piece of art, defence of said piece of art, you chose, the list goes on

"The highest paying are the thief of the piece of art, and a hit on the children of a local merchant; the theft would take us to a nutjob in Mustafar, head of a mining operation there, the hit on the children gets us off the planet, point, but the masterpiece in question is inside of Jabba's collection.

"Next best job would be the sabotage of one of the racers of the pod event, make sure he never leaves the start line, we get extra money if he doesn't come out without need of a bacta tank, and a bigger bonus if he doesn't make it out.

"What do you say we take for our next pay check?"

"I say we go for the sabotage" David said, cleaning his rifle, "None of us have the stealth to sneak past all the trandoshian guards that the slug has, not even with the field generators"

"On the other hand..." Lydia leaned back, "What if talked to Jabba about the man, give him an alternative, he pays us to take out the thief, we fly to Mustafar, get paid, then kill him, and buy our hyperdrive"

"Problem with that, Lydia, is that I don't think Jabba is one for paying up front," David replied, looking up from his work, "However, if we sabotage that pod, make the guy lose enough flesh that he can't even get replacements fitted, we got a full bonus, and probably enough for some more shield generators"

Tronk gave a series of serious growls and howls, pointing at where their suits of armour were kept, currently brown from the sandstorm they had caught before entering the ship.

"He's right, our shields are not young enough to keep up with new weapons," Alema said, even if she kept her eyes closed, "We need to upgrade them, or at the very least give them a faster recharge and higher load capacity"

"So, I say we take the sabotage, two hits, and theft, there were two easy hits, a merchant that holds a grudge, and a man that blackmailed a peacekeeper's daughter, both spend a lot of time in public, so we can take them out at the same time, meanwhile, Sugi and Stax sneak into the house of the appointed mayor and take his collection of historic holocrones, we have to plan everything so that we are done the day of the pod race, and we leave as soon as we get paid." Brick looked at his crew, the people he had been adventuring for nearly a decade now, "Let's get to it, people, we got two weeks"

The house they would be stealing from belonged to one of the few Neimodians that dared enter the outer rim without an escort, but that would only make sneaking in and out easier, as a Neimodian that confident was likely to have forgone protections inside his house, something that Stax and Sugi would make sure to exploit.

Their first hit was a Gossam, a reptilian species that most, with good reason, associated with greed. Little taller than a metter, Gossams were often blue in colour, with shrivelled heads and elongated neck. They were frail, however, relying in cunning and shrewdness to get them out of the line of fire, and it showed in their target, who had used the blackmail material on the daughter of the peacekeeper to become nearly untouchable in the village he lived in. The daughter, however, had an admirer, and he did not like that the reptile was using the object of his admirations for his own gains.

The second hit was on a Verpine, an insectoid species from the Roche asteroids, known for their aptitude at creating and remodelling existing technology, and they would no doubt recruit one to install or upgrade the current hyper drive on the ship and the shield generators on the armour. However, this particular one was not only as adept at sensing radio waves, limiting the communication between the team selected for taking him out, he was a very vindictive insect, and had taken offence to a resident of his village insulting his creation and banned him from it, incurring the wrath of their client, who now wanted the insect dead.

"Niteko, I leave you and Alema to take care of the Grossam, you both need to get out of the hot zone as soon as you confirm the kill, so try to make it a head shot, the gorier the better. Stax, you and Aela are going after the Verpine, your pheromones will make dealing around his radio wave sense easier, if not eliminate it from the board. Tronk, you, David and I will try to make the pod racer trust us, show us his pod and plant a bomb that takes him out. Lydia, you can choose between going with us three or with Niteko and Alema"

Brick left the ship to his crew members, they would do what they needed to. But now, he wanted to talk to Jango.

**Mos Eisley bar**

"Strum, you wanted to see me?" Jango was a handome man, he would admit it to everyone that asked without hesitation, why lie about such a trivial manner? But he was not here to admire the soldier, but to question him.

"Yes, you didn't tell me all you know, I want to have the biggest picture I can manage" He was also without his helmet, a testament to how much they both trusted each other, to be without the most important part of a bounty hunter.

The Mandalorian sighed deeply, "Yeah, I didn't tell you everything for a good reason, you're still inexperienced, as good as you are, and the only one that I know can keep his mouth closed on your crew is the ex-mando.

"Strum, war is coming, I don't know how long, but I do know that it's going to be large, larger than the outer rim. The trade federation is moving, I don't know if you've heard, but they've put a blockade around Naboo, and they're recruiting planets to join them, last I heard they got Geonosis on their side, and that planet has not accepted anyone other than Geonosians in ages.

"I am in my thirties Strum, I put ten, maybe fifteen years before Bane starts overtaking me, he's only a few years older than you, that's why I accepted the offer from the Kaminoans, a base of opperations other than a ship, I never set up a safe house, and it's about time I did."

"What do you suggest I do, then?" Brick looked at Jango eye to eye, "Train my crew is an obvious thing, but what else?"

"Get implants, modify your DNA so that you don't age as fast, set up safe houses, do what you can to make sure you and your crew don't die in your first open conflict"

"The Kaminoans, are they still searching for samples?"

"Not after I agreed, bes soldier in the galaxy and all that," Jango glared at Brick, "You want in on the pay." The Mando said matter-of-factly.

"Yes, no, I don't know" Brick picked up his helmet, looking at the action camera that transmitted everything that he saw during battle to the ship's console, to review his fights and find ways to get better, "You know the gut feeling"

"I wouldn't be alive if I didn't"

"Yeah, I've been thinking about that, about your clones, and for some reason, I get the feeling that it won't be good for the jedi" Brick thought to the Neutolan on his crew, the Force sensitive member, who would no doubt insist that they kidnap his brother should he learn of a plot against him

"Didn't know you could see the future" Fett leaned back, hands on his blaster.

"And I can't, I'm no jedi, the Force can't call out to me as it can to Stax, but the feeling is still there, nagging, telling me that if I don't do something, half my crew will end up dead."

"What do want me to do, I'm a warrior, not a politician"

"Talk to the Kaminoans, find out what specifications the clones have, or let me in with them, and I can do it myself"

"You're a dumb man encumbered by bonds, Strum, but I suppose I can do you this service, and note that I said service, I will be expecting pay in some form. One week from now, I'm meeting with them for the final negotiation, you can be there, or you can get lost, either way, that's your only chance"

Jango stood up, shot a lizard trying to sneak up on him, and walked out from the bar.

Brick followed soon after, his destination clear in mind.

***Dusk Bringer***

"Gather up everyone, gather up," Brick stared at the dessert from his place at the cockpit of the ship, "There's been a change of plans, I'm not gonna be involved on the operations against the pod racer."

Mutters of confusion answered him, "May I ask why?" said Stax.

"Jango invited me to Kamino, I wanna see the specifications of the clones, make sure they won't pose much of a threat to us" It wasn't a complete lie, he wanted to make sure they wouldn't be a threat to the Jedi order, even if he wasn't on good therms with them, he didn't want them gone, either.

There simply was too much profit to be made when people wanted things done under the Jedi noses.

"Clones of the best bounty hunter of the decade will be problematic" Amela said.

"Yeah, but we're on our way to take his place," Sugi said, "Anyway, shouldn't Aela go with you, you know, as she's the best sneak in the crew"

"Normally I would, yes," Brick looked at his crew, "But it's been a while sins I've flown solo, last time I separated from was, what? Ten, eleven months ago? We all got our specializations, but what did I train you all to remember?"

"A Jack/Jill of all trades, master of none, the one way to survive is to never overspecialize, an overspecialized hunter is as good as death once his antithesis comes around," all members said at the same time, with Tronk growling it out.

"The best code to follow is the one that is always true," Brick said, "I wanna practice my stealth some, and my hacking, a man can't only worry about having the biggest gun around."

"Was that a dick joke?" Lydia groaned

"Do you really have to ask?" Brick shook his head, "This means a change in plans of operation, I want the hits done before I leave, Lydia, you're with David and Tronk, incapacitate the racer, make sure he won't be able to apply for a prosthetic."

"I'll go with Alema and Niteko, I'm going to be the whistle-blower, shoot as soon as you get my signal, and go for the head, use a kinetic sniper if you can"


End file.
